STEVE PUPPE ON ELK HUNTING IN THE BITTERROOT MOUNTAINS

Why You Wait On An Elk

EDITOR'S NOTE: Steve Puppe of Hamilton, Montana, promotions director for Knight Rifles and longtime avid hunter, lives on the edge of the Bitterroot National Forest with its abundant elk, mule deer and deer.

QUESTION: Steve, why is waiting on an elk important?
ANSWER: To wait on an elk, you need to know the habits of the animal, especially in early bow season or the later season. The elk will feed in the morning, and they'll bed down during the day. They'll spend much of the whole day in one area without moving far. So rather than pressure them and push them out, wait them out. If you pressure an elk, it will leave. It'll run five miles away. Then you're back to square one trying to find him again. Wait until the animal makes the move. Several things can happen in the mountains. The conditions change rapidly as does the wind. You must play that wind. Wait until the wind is in your favor, and the animal wants to make his move. Get in as close as you can, but don't spook him.

During archery season, if I call to an elk while he's bedded-down and he bugles, he'll probably sit there and bugle and want me to come to him, especially if I'm cow calling. If I bugle to him, he may think he has pressure from another bull. If he already has cows, he's just going to pick up, take his cows and walk away from you. Cow calling seems to be the best. Wait him out. When he gets up from his bed, start getting aggressive. Often, the elk may come right in to see what's happening.

QUESTION: Tell us the story about the bowhunters.
ANSWER: I was guiding a couple of gentlemen from Pennsylvania. As we walked up the mountain, I smelled an elk and said we had to stop. I looked around and didn't see anything. So I put out a half-hearted bugle, and a bull stood up about 70-yards away. He had three or four cows with him, and he packed-up and left because he felt pressure from another bull. We went further up the hill without making a sound and suddenly I heard a bull. He grunted a few times, and I knew a bull was there. He heard us walking and was telling us, "Hey, I'm up here. Don't bother me if you're another bull. If you're a cow, I'm right here."

So I started calling to him. He began bugling and bugling. I could tell he was lying down because he hadn't moved. The wind started to swirl and go toward him. I told the guys, "Let's back off and leave him alone." But they wanted to circle and get above him since the wind was blowing upward. I explained to them that toward the eveningtime, the wind currents would change and bring the thermals back down the hill. We needed to back down and wait him out. About 3:30 in the afternoon, I called. The bull bugled right back. He moved about 50 yards, which was no big deal. We waited for the wind conditions to pull the thermals back down the hill, and we moved about 120 yards below him. I set each guy up, one on each side about 30 yards ahead of me. I started calling. You could hear the bull zigzag his way down the mountain. I could tell he was going off to one side. So, I pulled the hunter on the left and moved him over, hoping to pull the bull right down between the two hunters. I kept calling and threw out a decoy to take the tension away from the hunters. I stood behind them about 30 yards, using the decoy as my blind. I stood there and called. Here came the elk down the mountain. When he got about 18 steps from one hunter, I stopped him by bugling. That bull bugled right in front of the guy. The hunter let an arrow go and hit the elk. He couldn't believe that bull stood so close to him and bellowed. The bull spun off and ran back up the mountain. We tracked the elk and found him. I had one happy hunter.

To learn more about Knight Rifles, call (641) 856-2626, write them at Knight Rifles, Customer Service Dept., 21852 Hwy J46, Centerville, IA 52544, or visit the Web site www.knightrifles.com. You can contact Scott Boulanger, a dependable, expert elk guide in this section of Montana by writing him at P.O. Box 733, Darby, Montana, 59289. You can call him at (406) 821-0017, E-mail him at elkhunter@circlekbl.com, or visit his Web site www.circlekbl.com.

TOMORROW: EQUIPPING THE ELK HUNTER